London’s South Bank is such a great place for portraits. There are so many interesting corners and spaces to photograph in. Just a 10 minute walk can take you from the National Theatre’s concrete backdrop to Shakespeare’s globe with the river and some graffiti thrown in for good measure.
So when Stu Simpson of Smart Party suggested we meet there so that I could take some business portraits, I was delighted. Stu is a London based designer so the urban setting was the perfect look. I love the South bank Graffiti skate park and that’s where we finished up, with my favourite image from the shoot.

I’ve been photographing for Haywards Butchers this week, some delicious meat for your winter dishes. Above you can see stuffed duck, mixed game casserole and stuffed pheasant. Yum!

I had a lovely morning yesterday photographing some gorgeous pieces of glass made by my talented friend Ruth Willis. The lizard is a commissioned piece. The challenge was to find a way of lighting them pieces to show off their texture and colour without reflecting the flash or our ourselves.

I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve neglected to post any of my sessions, but I really wanted to share this one with you and I promise to post more soon. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing these 5 lovely sisters. Never was the studio more full of fun and energy! My challenge was to take pictures that showed off each of the girl’s individual personalities while capturing them as a family unit. Much giggling and running around ensued and I’m delighted with the results.

 
Last week, 14 girls and I descended on Photoshoot Studio for a photo party. It was my first and I was looking forward to working with so many people at once and with such a high level of energy and excitement. We had a ball! With pop music blaring the girls all looked ready for a party in their posh clothes. After lots of group shots, I took individual photos of each girl, with a fan to blow their hair and a fabulous red chair to lounge on. Time for a costume change and everyone got into their pyjamas (except me!) with duvets, cuddly toys and a pillow fight. My aim was to make each girl feel like a superstar and confident about how fabulous they were. By the end 14 happy girls left and I went home, ready for my pyjamas

I would heartily recommend Photoshoot studio for a party of this kind, they have great facilites – kitchen, changing rooms, makeup mirror, sound system etc, and the owner Paul is always very helpful. If you’re interested in booking a photo party with me for your child’s birthday or a special occasion, please email: janet@janetpenny.com or call 07905 053 794 to talk about pricing and dates.

Most people would say that they hope for sunshine on their special day, but there is something to be said for a little rain – namely RAINBOWS. As a photographer, I couldn’t have hoped for a more perfect photo moment when after the rain, the sun broke out and produced this beautiful rainbow.

One of the things that makes people feel so self conscious about having their photo taken, is not knowing what to do with themselves. This is where you come into things – yes you! – you’re not just there to point the camera and shoot, you need to be involved. A little bit of direction is a real help when someone is ill at ease, so don’t be afraid to direct the action (but not too much).

When you point a camera at someone their first instinct is to stand up straight and grimace, which rarely looks good, so it’s up to you to guide people by telling them to lean against a wall, put their hands in their pockets, even to look away from the camera at someone else. Some people hate having their photo taken so much that the best way to get a good shot of them is not to make them look into the lens but to distract their attention with another subject – preferably one within the frame. Far from spoiling an image by having subjects who aren’t looking at the camera, sometimes the best shots are about the interactions going on within the frame.

 
Two or more people in a photo will be much more relaxed than just one, as everyone is made more confident by the others around them. Equally, if a single subject has something to hide behind/lean against, they don’t feel so ‘naked’ in front of the lens.

Natural posing isn’t a matter of one shot and it’s over, it may take more than one photo to get that relaxed stance you’re after. Once the initial shot is taken, your subject will relax, which is just the time to take that sneaky second shot!

So, to recap, the key to natural posing is:
Be at ease with your camera and yourself, and your subject will trust you
Be patient and wait for moment to shoot, and when it comes, shoot lots
Watch for interactions between your subjects
Give your subject something to do, or they’ll feel very uncomfortable
Don’t be afraid to be a little bit bossy